It does look fun. Note, however, that CMs last foray into magnemo figures was a fairly floppy toy. The magnets were nowhere near powerful enough to keep the joints in place satisfactorily. So, you had a few very static poses it could be placed into without it falling over almost immediately.

Hmm... if that's the case, than Baratack and his lanky frame will be a bust. Anyone know if the balls are standard magnemo sized (11mm?)? The figure looks nice, but I would much rather pay a hundred bucks for Baratack and one accessory set. There's no way to use even a quarter of the parts in the box at any one time, so $200 worth of parts are just sitting in the box at any time.

But if anything, it makes me want to break out the classic Takara Magneemo version (the reissue one). Maybe it's to do with Jeeg's distinct design, but the CM doesn't look all that different from the Takara's and about the same size. Sure, the magneemo has last metal and articulation but at least it has spring loaded gimmicks!

If the Takara Jeeg had ankle articulation, it would be a perfect toy. As it stands, 9.5/10, and I'm not sure just adding joints and raw parts count is going to make this Brave Gokin one meaningfully better. Sure does LOOK nice tho.

Untrue, Sanjeev. Maybe for the Cm's stuff, I can't vouch for that, but the 1999 Magnepowers Microman stuff is by and large stronger than vintage, at least the ones I have handled recently. I hadn't handled them in a few years and was quite surprised when I did compare more recently. That said, some floppiness has more to do with the tooling of the chamfers and the friction on the ball than the grip of the magnet itself. Some toys also add a lip or ratchets to help support where friction isn't enough. I could tell just looking at the CM's stuff that these were going to "flop", sadly. I was surprised they sold them like this without at least a support stand to compensate.

Ah, very interesting regarding the 1999 Magne Powers series...I've been meaning to track some of those down (alas, I've never been a Microman completist). That said, there *are* some realities at play here.

First off, there ARE most definitely new child safety laws that limit the strength and disposition (read: swallow-ability) of magnets used in toys...though I only heard about these laws in the last 4-5 years or so.

But regarding vintage versus modern magnets, in general, it's *quite* possible to weaken a magnet. Unless you're the original owner of a vintage magnemo (and thus know for sure), there's a reasonable chance that the previous (child) owner may have *dropped* the toy...or even flung the thing around the room! Whenever there's a sharp impact on a magnet, it throws the magnetic dipoles out of alignment, and thus reduces the net magnetic strength. This is often the case with old magnets used in toys and such (think old Diaclone/Kronoform/Diakron driver feet that no longer stick).

Yeah, actually the Mega Bloks figures (I had one of the Halo ones earlier) are an extension of stuff they've done earlier. I was even more impressed with their Mag-Warriors, which were Magnemo-11 compatible (these new ones unfortunately are not: [www.flickr.com] ) and use the same general idea, though they are inverse of Takara magnemo and these in that the magnets are in suction cups on the limbs with the ball surfaces on the torso. They absorbed another magnetic line from a competitor which used the larger diameter joints that this new line has inherited. I have some examples of magnemo parts swapping with Mega Bloks toys included in here: [www.flickr.com]

What's funny is I wasn't really too keen on Magnemo-11 until Magnepowers came along. It was that series that taught me to really appreciate the play value of the system. :)

microbry Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What's funny is I wasn't really too keen on
> Magnemo-11 until Magnepowers came along. It was
> that series that taught me to really appreciate
> the play value of the system. :)

It's true: Magne Powers kinda took that format to their logical conclusion...but for some reason, it's just not as popular a series as many others. I'd love to see another company take a swing at magnemo-11, but use a totally different figure aesthetic. I guess the Mag Warriors were pretty much that...but something with more interoperability...like what Magne Powers featured.

After many years of yearning and waiting, I finally got a taste of the modern rendition of a Jeeg gokin. I can't help but bring the whole package box with me to work, after the mail man dropped it off at my door right when I was heading out to work. And opened it during my lunch break...

First impression of Jeeg alone is good, but not blown away. As usual, I always end up getting some flawed sample, and this time, it is the left side of Jeeg's face (the red) not painted very well (not filling the face well). But that is very minor, and the rest of the figure is well painted (whew!). So as I started the BUILD UP! process, I noticed the ankles are well done. Wish the balljoint was a bit tighter, but it is enough to keep the ankle stable. The magnet connection on ankles are great, with the 'cuffs' make them very stable with no play or slippage. The knees however, CM's got a little too greedy to go for more articulation with a double knee joint. The clicky upper joint is awesome and tight, but the lower magnet allows some move around since the 'knee cap' is only on the front knee, so it bends back a little too easy (magnet friction). However, its still pretty good, consider you can always have the knee lean forward on the knee caps and get perfecly straight legs whenever you want. Hips has rubbery rim around the magnet balls. It helped, but the legs are simply too heavy (all metal) so depends on how you hold the figure, the legs will sag a bit. Waist, elbows, neck, all excellent. The fists on mine don't shoots off super easy, but it doesn't lock super tight either, so had a couple misfire, but not often like people said. Jeeg overall is stable for display. It can stand well and balance well, but once you hold it up, it still feel a bit flimpsy, and the all magnet joints connection is a bit less stable than the CM's Gakeen (only some joints are magnets, others are hinges). But once you plop Jeeg onto Panzaroid, then it becomes rock solid. Panzaroid is very light, but the ratchets are very nice, while the non-ratch ankles are all very snug. Jeeg can indeed stand only on Panzaroid's 2 rear feet. I haven't got the chance to play with much accessories yet. I'll comment on some of those later when I get the chance.

Overall, CM's does a good job improving the stabilty. While Jeeg is not rock solid on its own, its stable enough to be satisfying. It looks great, and the magnets are just very fun. Paint finish is good too (aside the face on mine). I'll give it a solid 8.5/10 as first impression. If only they made the hips more snug, and possibly the lower knees as well, then this is definitely a killer gokin to have. As of now, I see it very similar to Gakeen. Slightly less stable, but you get more magnets to play and more appeal as the original magnet robo that started it all. Very glad I bought it, regardless the price, and a personal holy grail acquired.

A tough customer you are (want a full repaint + new parts of this Jeeg for a mere $30-40 exclude shipping). :D

Tried most of the accessories and weapons. They sure are quite abundant, but not all super satisfying. First of all, they all look great, and attach well on Jeeg. Most of them does their job in adding some play value and pose well. But I have some issues with the optional shooting hands and the hand that grabs the Jeeg Lancer. The other hands seem more trigger happy than the fists, while the non-one piece shooting Knuckle Bomber lower arms seem redundant, when there is a one piece (strong firing) shooting part. Also the grabing hand hinges are not that tight. While it holds the lance ok, there is no firm grip and the lance move out of place at times. Since Jeeg is trigger happy on some of the hands, I wish they give you a pair of non-shooting lower arms, instead 2 sets of shooting Knuckle Bomber arms that serves little purpose (as they can't use other hands or weapons). The Mach drills are pretty, big and shiny. But not so fun when I try to fly my Jeeg around, with the heavy legs sagging a lot and even had one thigh fell off and hit the table (good that its only a few inch drop and didn't scratch the paint, but I had a heart attack for a second). So while the magnets are pretty strong and stable enough for display, its not meant to keep Jeeg & the Mach Drill up to let you swoosh around. Bummer. The Jeeg Buckler (big round shields) are heavier, enough to let the elbow joint give in at some angle, but it has a very snug wrist ball joint with wide angles of movement. Very poseable as a shield. Jeeg Bazooka is pretty straight forward. It shares the same red missles as the Panzaroid's. You get 2 pair of those missiles.

With all the accessories considered, the overall score got bumped down a tad by issues of trigger happy option hands and not well thought out gripping hands/Knuckle Bomber gimmicks. Most of the weapons does its job though. I have a lot of love for Jeeg, but with all things considered, as well as the price, I'll rate the whole set as 8.25/10.

I would still love to see a Big Shooter get released in the future, together with the missing Earth, Sky & Marine Parts to fully complete this Jeeg set.